Textiloma: an uncommon complication of posterior lumbar surgery

A surgical sponge or cotton swab that is inadvertently left behind in a surgical wound eventually becomes a "textiloma". Such foreign material (also called "gossypiboma") can cause a foreign-body reaction in the surrounding tissue. Textiloma is mostly asymptomatic in chronic cases, but can be confused with other soft-tissue masses. Therefore, it is important to be aware of patients who present with a paraspinal soft-tissue mass and unusual or atypical symptoms. Imaging is helpful for arriving at the correct diagnosis. Here, we describe a case of textiloma in which the patient presented with low-back pain 6 years after laminectomy and lumbar discectomy. Spinal computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a mass lesion in the posterior paravertebral region.